Search results

North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait, Ryu Hyun Woo, defected to Seoul last year, in an episode first reported in the South Korea media on 25 January.

The early plans for Neom were put together by a predictable line up of global consultants including Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company and Oliver Wyman. Since then, a succession of international firms have won large contracts: US giant Bechtel is providing design, construction and project management services across Neom, and also overseeing utilities and a transport system. New York Stock Exchange-listed Aecom has project management work on the 45km2 Neom Bay phase one and Silver Beach districts; it also has a contract for transport and utilities and is a consultant on the Industrial City section.

With President Joe Biden’s administration formally taking office on 20 January, the US is set to transition to a more traditional foreign policy, based more on national rather than on the personal interest that marked the Donald Trump years. With limited co-operation from the outgoing administration during a uniquely chaotic transition period, Biden has been putting together a team which features a large number of people he worked with while vice president to Barack Obama.

Prime minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has made widespread changes to the cabinet following the December election, with only five ministers retaining their posts from the previous government. Notable returnees are foreign affairs minister Sheikh Dr Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah and health minister Sheikh Dr Basil Hmoud Hamad Al-Sabah.

A prominent Saudi-American doctor was sentenced to six years in prison on 8 December, despite pressure from the Trump administration to drop the charges, and allow Walid Fitaihi and his family to travel, The New York Times (NYT) reported.

The wide-reaching reshuffle of defence and security officials has continued, with former Hawwali governor Lieutenant-General Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawwaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah – son of Emir Sheikh Nawwaf – named as deputy head of the National Guard with the rank of minister. This follows the September appointment of Ahmed’s brother Major General Sheikh Salem as head of the State Security Bureau.

There has been renewed speculation about the extent of the wealth Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa left behind, following the long-standing prime minister’s death at the age of 84 on 11 November. The scale of Sheikh Khalifa’s fortune is unknown but it is believed to be substantial, with many of the dealings hidden by the use of agents and family members.

Following the UAE’s normalisation of relations with Israel announced in mid-August, a growing number of delegations have been travelling between the two countries signing numerous agreements along the way. GSN’s analysis shows that one notable feature of the deal-making has been the activities of businesses connected to the sons of late UAE President Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on 27 October finally appointed a new head of his powerful Emiri Diwan, Sheikh Saud Bin Abdulrahman Bin Hassan Bin Ali Al-Thani, who has been assistant head since September 2019. Long-standing diwan chief Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa was appointed prime minister and interior minister in January, when Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser retired.

Iranian-Canadian human rights activist Mohammad Mehdi Amin Sadeghieh was found dead, possibly murdered, in his Toronto townhouse on 21 October.

The United States has added petroleum minister Bijan Zangeneh and a number of other senior energy officials to its list of sanctioned individuals, as part of another wave of measures against Tehran announced on 26 October.

National Intelligence Agency of Israel (Mossad) director Yossi Cohen visited Bahrain on 30 September, in the wake of their Abraham Accord. In Manama, Cohen held talks with National Intelligence Agency president Lieutenant-General Adel Bin Khalifa Al-Fadhel, and Strategic Security Bureau chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdelaziz Al-Khalifa.

Risk Management Report – GSN Risk Grade – D↓4↓ Exiles return: There has been some confusion over the circumstances surrounding the return of some overseas critics this year, with conflicting claims about whether they have received formal pardons or struck other deals with the authorities. Among those to return have been Dhofari human rights blogger Said Jadad and fellow exiles Muawiyah Salem Al-Rawahi and Muthahir Al-Tajer.

Major General Sheikh Salem Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah has been appointed as the new head of the State Security Bureau, replacing Talal Saqr who was ousted as part of investigations into corruption linked to Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Court proceedings against former Airbus subsidiary GPT Special Project Management and a number of businessmen began on 14 September.The case involves charges of corruption between January 2007 and December 2012 related to a £2bn ($2.6bn) contract to provide communications services to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (Sang).